Of the Stars
by XerxesTexasToast
Summary: A child is born in Dreamland, full of potential and yearning for the day he gets to go on an adventure. When he loses his parents, his new caretaker discovers his talent for an ancient, unique form of magic. Coupled with determination and surprising wisdom, he might be capable of more than anyone could imagine. His name is Kirby.
1. Chapter 1

As it often was in Dreamland, it was a bright, clear morning. The smooth, white stone of a dome-shaped cottage rose out of the grassy ground like a sleeping turtle. Inside, a puff woman and her young son were preparing for the day.

"Mama!" Kirby pressed up against Endigo's side, waving his stubby arms. "_Mama!_"

"What is it, Kirby?" Endigo patted the eager child on the head with one hand and reached for her bow with the other. Ever since her husband left to hone his swordsmanship, she was the sole provider of food for her son. Being a skilled archer, she did so by hunting.

"Come with, poyo!" he squealed, his voice muffled by his mother's dark blue fur. "Come with! Adventure, poyo!"

"Kirby," Endigo chuckled, hugging her young son, "you're too little. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"_Poyooooooo!_" the boy wailed. "Come with Mama! Poyo poy!"

Endigo sighed. "Oh, fine. But stay close to Mommy, all right?"

"Poyo!" Kirby cheered, dancing around. "Adventure!"

Endigo took his hand and led him outside. Instantly his blue eyes widened impossibly. "Poyo poy!" He tugged at Endigo's arm as if to run off.

The young mother pulled her son back to her side, startled by his reaction. "Kirby! Don't try to run away like that!"

"World pretty, poyo!" he protested. "Wanna see!"

"You'll see it someday," she consoled, rubbing his head through his fluffy pink baby fur.

"Wanna see _now!_" Kirby stamped his foot. "Poyo poyo poy poyo poyo poyo poy!" The next moment, his small tantrum dissolved, and he stared at the huge world around him. "So big…" A butterfly flitted past, and he began to giggle uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Endigo asked, suddenly infected by his innocent cheeriness. It wasn't long before she was laughing with him. There was something about this fluffy ball of joy that just made her smile. She assumed it was just motherhood, but it was a little more than that. He was like the embodiment of happiness; it was impossible not to like him.

"Adventure, adventure!" he sang, skipping around a nearby tree. Endigo drew her bow and looked around for an animal that could serve as food, but she saw nothing. Deciding that she shouldn't hunt in front of her son, she sent an arrow through an apple hanging from the tree. It fell to the grass with a small thump right in front of Kirby. His eyes widened at the fruit, and, with deft precision, he grabbed it, pulled the arrow out, and popped the apple in his mouth whole.

"Don't choke, sweetheart!" As soon as the words left her lips, he swallowed the apple in a single gulp. At this, Endigo sighed and smiled. Kirby could be so impulsive sometimes.

"Adventure," he said, staring longingly out to the horizon. Deep inside, he wanted to see everything there was to see in the world. Little did he know that the stars were listening to his wish…


	2. Chapter 2

Kirby's eyes fluttered open, and he hopped to his feet and clambered out of his crib. He was nine now, equivalent to a human three-year-old, and he was growing fast. And, as he grew, so did his ambition to journey. Until then, he was content with exploring his home in Cookie Country alongside his mother. Ready for another small adventure, he called out to her.

"Mama!"

Silence. Endigo woke up early on a regular basis, but she would always answer to her young son. Why didn't she respond?

"Mama?" Kirby pulled his blanket through the crib's posts and ambled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. There was no sign of his mother anywhere. He was alone.

Kirby sat on the floor and pulled his blanket up around his shoulders, sniffling. Seconds later, he tore his blanket off his shoulders and threw it angrily against the wall. No longer would it provide comfort now that his mother wasn't there. He couldn't care for himself; he was only a child! What was he going to do?

An idea hit him. Kirby loved his mother, but she was the one keeping him from straying too far from home. Now that she wasn't here, he was free to explore as he pleased. Suddenly optimistic, he ran to the front door and burst into the outside world.

It was only then he realized just how beautiful Dreamland was. Only then did he understand why it had received its name. Sunbeams fell across the land, illuminating the lush greenery, the fluffy clouds in the sky, and catching on bright, multicolored blossoms. Occasionally, a ray would pass through a cloud at an angle and scatter into a rainbow. Column-like rock formations cast their shadows over the meadows, but they were mere pebbles in comparison to the majesty of the mountains off in the distance. The entire landscape was alive with songs of birds and the buzzing of insects. The boy was seized by childlike wonder.

"Salutations, young one," a rich, pleasant voice greeted. Kirby whirled around to see a gray-feathered owl perched in a tree. The bird had large blue eyes and a spiky crest of feathers extending from his upper forehead to the back of his short neck. He had creamy belly feathers marked with three vertical black stripes. At first, he seemed drab against the brightness of the world around him, but upon closer inspection, he had a faint purple sheen to his gray down.

Kirby stared at the owl, utterly confused. "…Poyo?"

"We've never met, of course," the bird continued. "I do know your mother quite well, though. She's not here. She was…taken. She will not return for quite a while." He stretched out his black-tipped cream wings. "My name is Coo, and your mother Endigo has appointed me as your caretaker." Coo folded his feathery appendages back against his sides. "You are, after all, a child."

"_Adventure_, poyo," Kirby pouted. Yet another guardian had to come along and squelch his dream of exploring the world. Still, Coo might make a good friend. Immediately the situation turned around in his head. Sure, he would be restrained by another grown-up, but at least he would be cared for. Plus, it would make his mother happy, wherever she was. And he wouldn't get hungry, either. His mouth pulled into a smile. "Friends?"

"Yes, your mother and I are friends," Coo said matter-of-factly.

"No, us." Kirby gestured between himself and the owl. "Friends?"

"Oh, yes," the bird remedied. "We can be friends."

"Yay! Friends!" Kirby skipped around in circles, bursting with joy. Coo flapped to the ground, and the overexcited toddler jumped on him and gave him a huge hug.

"Must I get used to this?" the bird asked rhetorically, returning the hug with his wing.

"Adventure?" Kirby tilted his head, still smiling.

"You're still young," Coo said. When the boy gave him an indignant look, Coo expanded on his answer. "We can go a little ways, but you cannot leave my sight at any time."

Kirby gasped, his blue eyes getting huge. "_Poyo?_"

The owl chuckled. "Yes, really. Now, stick close, little one. It's a big world out there…"

* * *

In the months to follow, Kirby grew very close to his new guardian. The duo explored the local wonders of Cookie Country, although Coo forbade him from entering caves for his own safety. As Kirby ran around in the meadows, the owl observed his impressive intelligence, iron will, and astonishing compassion in actions such as helping fallen bird chicks, asking surprisingly deep questions, and spending three hours trying to pluck an apple from the branches of a tree. In response to his frustration with the apple, Coo taught him how to fly by inflating himself like a balloon. Inferring by how easily he picked up knowledge, Coo believed Kirby could potentially have a unique talent that had been since lost to antiquity…

"Kirby," Coo began one morning, "have you heard of the Copy Ability?"

"Poyo?" Kirby plopped into a sitting position in front of his guardian, tilting his head.

"I suppose not," the bird concluded. "Allow me to enlighten you, little one. The Copy Ability is an ancient form of magic that can sometimes be inherited."

A blank look was all that registered on Kirby's face.

Coo paused before clarifying, "Put simply, it is a special power you may get from your parents."

Those adorable sapphire eyes widened so far, it looked as if they would take over the entire surface area of his head if not kept in check. The gesture was accompanied by a drawn-out, exaggerated intake of air. Clearly lacking the vocabulary to express himself, he simply held his expression of astonishment for ten seconds.

"…Are you done?" Coo asked, inciting a giggle from the child. Not waiting for the boy to respond, he continued, "It allows you to imitate any other powers you might come across. Like…a mint leaf, for example." Coo darted down to a small mint plant in the grass and stripped it of its leaves with his beak. "The seeds of Dreamland's mint travel on the winds. They can even harbor the power of the breeze on occasion." He dropped a leaf in front of Kirby. "A novice of the Copy Ability should be able to extract said power in some form."

Kirby picked up the leaf and examined it carefully. He ran his fingers over it, feeling the texture of the sweet-smelling plant part. After staring it down for a few seconds, he popped it in his mouth.

"Kirby, that's not how it works," his owl mentor said sternly. "Consuming the item isn't necessary—what are you doing?"

Kirby had a serious look on his face. He was concentrating hard on the mint, and in a few seconds, a pulse of light flowed over his fur and his round body inflated. He floated an inch upwards, hovering like a balloon. He exhaled a strong, short puff of air, but his lungs filled back up almost immediately after. The child flapped his arms like Coo had taught him only a few days before, and he rose just like he would as if he were flying normally.

Coo sat there in shock. Here was a young boy, on his way to mastering an ancient magical art, and he had already taken the first step. He could barely talk, for stars' sake!

The bird paused, ruffling his wing feathers. But what happened to the mint leaf?

"Kirby, where's the mint? Did you eat it?" If Kirby had to eat something to gain a power, his options were limited. Coo didn't want to imagine having to swallow something like fire or electricity.

Kirby shook his head, causing him to awkwardly roll around in midair. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a gust of wind that blew him backwards. Frustrated, he waved his arms and feet and grunted until another pulse of light surrounded him. The glow flowed off his body and collected into a flattish, star-shaped object, which bounced away before shattering into fading luminous fragments. "Mint gone," Kirby finally said with a small shrug.

"Did you swallow it?"

Kirby nodded in response. "Mint gone."

"So you ate it," Coo concluded.

Kirby shook his head. "No, didn't eat. Mint gone, poyo." He was just as confused as Coo was.

"You swallowed it and it disappeared?" Coo tilted his head.

The puff child nodded vigorously.

It clicked. Kirby could swallow something to use his Copy Ability, even if it would have been dangerous to eat normally. Where the object went, Coo still didn't know.

A green, faintly sweet-smelling leaf drifted down from the sky right in front of the bird's face. Kirby pointed. "Mint there!" he said, grasping how his power worked at last.

"How do you think it got up there…?" Coo mused, speaking to himself just as much as he was to Kirby.

"Power?" Kirby suggested. "Use power, mint gone, then mint there."

The owl pondered this idea for a moment. "Actually, you might be right." Kirby _didn't _eat it; instead, it warped to someplace else. Because it was a Dreamland mint, perhaps it warped to where it belonged: in the sky. He hopped forward and patted the child on the head with his wing. "You're a clever one. I think that's enough for today. Let's go back inside."

Kirby gave a happy poyo of agreement and skipped alongside his caretaker back to the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Coo soared through the misty, early morning air as fast as his wings could take him. The sun hadn't risen yet, and Kirby was still asleep in his crib. Normally, Coo wouldn't be this anxious at this time, but both he and Kirby needed breakfast, and he hadn't seen a single fruit in the five miles he had traveled. If this went on too long, the boy would starve, and the thought of that made his feathers stand on end.

The bird flapped to a halt on a tree branch, startling some Bronto Burts who in turn gave him annoyed scowls and fluttered off. His wings ached from flying so fast, and his breathing was heavy and raspy from fatigue. He desperately needed to find food and return before Kirby awoke. He scanned the dim landscape, his sharp owl eyes piercing the fog. Just on the horizon, where the sun was beginning to rise, he spotted moving shapes. Ignoring his protesting muscles, Coo lifted off once more to investigate.

As he neared the figures, they became more distinct. It was a troop of Waddle Dees led by several Tacs, marching in the direction of a mountain close to Bubbly Clouds. The Dees were carrying something over their heads, and as Coo came closer, he made out foodstuffs of all kinds. Fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, and other such fare were being carted off to somewhere in portions ranging from a single apple to a procession of toy wagons. There were at least fifty Waddle Dees, if not more, and they all had something to transport.

A hundred questions raced through the scholarly owl's mind, but one objective silenced them all: _Get the food._ Coo swooped and sank his talons into a particularly large loaf of bread, snatching it from the Waddle Dee that held it. As he regained altitude, the weight of the Dee fell away. A chorus of shouts rose from the throng, but they quickly died out as Coo shot off through the skies. The sun began to burn off the morning mist, but it did nothing to help. The owl was gone.

* * *

The bread made a hefty thump as it landed on the kitchen table.

"Where did you go, poyo?" Kirby asked, articulating his words as carefully as one could through a mouthful of bread. He was starting to get the hang of complete sentences.

"I had to find our breakfast," Coo responded, wearily picking at the loaf with his beak.

"Hard?"

"Pardon?"

Kirby thought for a moment. "Was…was it hard?"

"Yes," Coo sighed. "I had to work extra hard to get it this time."

"Why?"

Coo almost didn't register the question. "…Why?"

Kirby nodded. "Why?"

The bird blinked, unable to answer. How was he supposed to tell the boy that he had stolen their breakfast? He would be setting a bad example at an early age. "It…took a while to find it," he explained. "I flew a long way away, and I didn't see any food for a long time."

The pink child gave a skeptical look and slid out of his chair. He trotted to the window and peered out, noticing the tree outside. "No apples…"

"No apples?" Coo hopped up to the window next to Kirby.

"Apples yesterday, no apples today." His expression of skepticism had changed to full-on bewilderment. "Why?"

"…I don't know." Blast! Those apples were their primary food source! Had those Dees taken them the night before?

"Someone take?"

Coo turned to look at Kirby in surprise. The boy was looking right back at him, genuine worry on his young face. The bird exhaled, unable to hide the story any longer. He recounted the story of that morning, condensing it into words the boy would understand.

Kirby listened calmly to the entire tale. When it concluded, he walked to the front door and pulled it open.

"Kirby, what are you doing?" the bird demanded sternly.

"Get food back," the child replied, his tone equally serious. "Get food back for everyone."

Coo's beak fell open. "You can't possibly be thinking about—"

"No, not take food back," Kirby said. "Make meanies _give _food back."

"You can't!" the owl squawked. "It's too dangerous out there!"

"So?" Kirby turned around and gave a knowing smile. "People need food, poyo. Meanies take food, and people don't have food anymore. Meanies need to give food back."

"You're a _child_, Kirby!" Coo pleaded. "You _will _get hurt."

The pink boy faltered, considering the possibility, but it didn't take long for determination to reappear on his face. "Everyone hurts if meanies don't give food back." He turned back to the outside world. "I go, only I get hurt. I stay, everyone hurts. I go so less people get hurt."

Coo wanted to argue so badly, his feathers stood up. But Kirby was right. The boy was so young; Coo couldn't believe how right he really was. What's more, he was willing to sacrifice his safety for the well-being of everyone, at the early age of _nine_, no less! How could he argue against such reasoning? How could Kirby even reason like that at all?

Without waiting for Coo to respond, Kirby marched out the front door and into the wide world. Turning on his heel towards the east, he walked off across the Green Greens of Cookie Country. He was going to save the people of Dreamland and get their food supply back from whoever had taken it. But, what was most important to him was that he was going on a _real_ adventure.

And, of course, you should know the rest…

* * *

**And so begins the entire Kirby series! This is the first fanfiction that I have allowed myself to consider finished. For those wondering where Endigo went, it's supposed to be a mystery. That way, I can get you to read all my other fanfictions come time to post them. ;) I'm so clever.  
****The universal disclaimer is in my profile and the cover is available for download from my deviantART.** This fic is an opener to my entire Kirby headcanon. Stay tuned for many more stories in this category!  


**~XerxesTexasToast**


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